Meet Ron Charles TONIGHT
Weekly News from Friends & Fiction—October 28, 2026
Tune in LIVE at 7pm ET tonight for this week’s episode!
Join us on Wednesday, October 28th at 7pm Eastern on the F&F Facebook page and YouTube channel as & welcome prominent American literary critic and journalist , best known for his long tenure as the editor of Washington Post Book World.
After more than a decade teaching American literature, Ron served for seven years as the book review editor and staff critic for The Christian Science Monitor. He was hired by The Washington Post in 2005, where he spent 21 years working as a book reviewer and the editor for Book World, becoming a leading voice in contemporary literary culture. After The Washington Post eliminated its book section in early 2026, Ron transitioned to independent journalism on Substack where he has quickly amassed nearly 40,000 subscribers. We are eager to talk to Ron about the rapidly shifting environment of books coverage and the future of how readers will discover new books in this changing landscape.
Watch the video broadcast of this interview as it airs on Wed 10/28 at 7pm ET on the F&F Facebook group page & YouTube channel. Catch the audio version on our podcast Fri 10/30.
Meanwhile, order our guests’ and hosts’ books at a discount in our F&F Shop on Bookshop.org where all your purchases support our show and indie bookstores nationwide!
Upgrade to our PAID Subscription for bonus Q&A’s with our guest authors which include a writing tip, book recommendation, and information about their works-in-progress, plus other great material not covered on the show!
Latest News from the Fab Four!
KRISTY WOODSON HARVEY got some fabulous news! BEACH HOUSE RULES has been optioned for a television series by Cloud Nine Productions. Hooray! For more info, check out the announcement in People! She had the best time on the Friends & Fiction Book Club with Brenda and Lisa Monday–and is thrilled that her episode with American Dream TV will be debuting on Thursday. If you’re around, come to the launch party at Watermark Books in Beaufort, NC to celebrate! Speaking of upcoming events… Kristy will also be in High Point, NC on November 14 and would love to see you there. For more on her tour dates and schedule, check out the full tour dates! Thank you to absolutely everyone for all your support of Falling for Peachtree Bluff. It has been an incredible journey so far–and we have plenty of time left to celebrate this amazing season!
PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is really excited for you to hear our interview with Ron Charles tonight. Patti had a glorious autumn weekend in Auburn (even if they lost), and was privileged to go down on the field pregame with her sons. She celebrated both her son and daughter-in-law’s birthdays with a family dinner and spent last night in DC to interview Bonnie Garmus at Politics and Prose and then…today it’s off to the NC mountains for the rest of the week—the very mountains that inspired Heart of the Wild (countdown now: five months until release – watch for news and pre orders and events and so much more).
MARY KAY ANDREWS got to enjoy the very best of Lowcountry living this past weekend. She spent a night at Ebbtide, her family’s Tybee Island vacation rental home, where she enjoyed fluffing up a guest bedroom, then got up early the next morning in time for a fabulous sunrise. (Psst. Wanna check into Ebbtide? Go here!) Then it was off for an impromptu antique shopping binge at a dear friend’s storage units, where she scored a car-load of vintage goodies. On Saturday she drove to Beaufort, SC, where she participated in the 11th annual Pat Conroy Literary Festival. She was on a panel with author pals Cassandra King Conroy, Lisa Patton and Dana Ridenour, chatting about Southern woman authors. On her way home she had to pull off the road to capture a soul-stirring sunset over the marshes. You can see photos of MKA’s shenanigans on her Instagram page. Now she’s back home, writing and enjoying this glorious Atlanta fall weather.
KRISTIN HARMEL had a fabulous weekend in Cape Cod, where she was in conversation with Ariel Lawhon on Sunday at the Cape Cod Book Festival. It was a gorgeous, sunny, autumn weekend with the fall leaves aglow; Kristin got to drive by her grandparents’ old house on the Cape (yes, there were a few tears) and to see her Aunt Donna twice over the weekend. She loved hanging out with authors Lois Cahall (also the festival founder!), Victoria Christopher Murray, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Kwame Alexander, Isaac Fitzgerald (and his lovely wife, Kelly Farber), Adrienne Brodeur, Pamela Kelley, and of course Ariel! She’s so bummed to have gotten down to the Cape too late to see John Searles, though! Tonight, catch Kristin live with Madeline Martin from 4-6pm at the new Barnes & Noble at Vineland Pointe in Orlando!
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Upcoming Events
See Kristy’s remaining tour stops for Falling for Peachtree Bluff HERE.
See Patti’s upcoming events HERE.
See MKA’s upcoming events HERE.
See Kristin’s upcoming events HERE.
Want to know what our F&F Live events are all about? Watch this video compilation!
In Case You Missed It
On our most recent episode of The Friends & Fiction Show, Kristin, Patti & MKA welcomed the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Time Traveler’s Wife Audrey Niffenegger to discuss our October 2026 Pick of the Month, Life Out of Order, her exhilarating new speculative story set in a dystopian future where virtual reality and real life converge.
You can WATCH that episode on Facebook or YouTube, or LISTEN to it on our podcast.
Coming Up on The Friends & Fiction Show
All shows can be watched on Facebook & YouTube each Wednesday evening at 7pm ET, and listened to on our podcast each Friday, all year long.
Already aired: Lucy Foley, Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Annie Hartnett, The Road to Tender Hearts
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Bonnie Garmus, Peck & Peck
WATCH | LISTEN
Already aired: Audrey Niffenegger, Life Out of Order
WATCH | LISTEN
May Cobb, All the Little Secrets
Watch LIVE: 11/4 | Listen: 11/6
Mary Beth Keane, Whale Harbor
Watch: 11/11 | Listen: 11/13
Nina de Gramont, Peregrine Hill
Watch: 11/18 | Listen: 11/20
Lucy Tan, Tiger’s Mouth
Watch: 12/2 | Listen: 12/4
Nancy Thayer, Nantucket Christmas Stroll
Watch LIVE: 12/9 | Listen: 12/11
Jennifer E. Smith, Rabbit Rabbit
Watch: 12/16 | Listen: 12/18
The NEW F&F 2026-27 Subscription Box with Oxford Exchange
Have you heard about the NEW 2026-27 F&F Subscription Box? It features Kristy’s Falling For Peachtree Bluff, out 9/15, and Patti’s Heart of the Wild, out in April 2027. You’ll also receive an adorable Friends & Fiction keychain and Friends & Fiction bookplates, so all the books you lend out are sure to make their way back to you! Those goodies are available ONLY in this subscription box. So, visit Oxford Exchange to get yours while supplies last!
F&F Merch Store
We have a Friends & Fiction merch store with t-shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs and a book bag on Bonfire. We recently added a couple new colors for our fan favorite name list tee-shirts—a heathery hunter green and a kelly green—both of which match perfectly with the three new Fab Four books that were just released in May, June & July of this year! Get yours now!
F&F Official Book Club & 2026 Reading Challenge
Join Brenda Gardner & Lisa Harrison for monthly book club picks and live online author chats on the Facebook page for the F&F Official Book Club with Brenda & Lisa, where they’ve amassed nearly 40,000 of their own members. You can also follow the Book Club on Instagram and subscribe to their YouTube channel where you can catch past discussions, including their most recent chat with Kristy WoodsonHarvey about their new novel, Falling for Peachtree Bluff. Mark your calendars for November 16th for their next author guest, John Lindstrom, when they’ll discuss his new novel, Hollywood Payback. The Book Club is also hosting the 2026 F&F Reading Challenge. Join them for a different category prompt each month to read outside your comfort zone. The October prompt is to read a southern gothic novel and for November it’s to read a work of foodie fiction.
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